Cleveland Cavaliers fans can exhale.After the Cavs' loss to the New York Knicks on LeBron James' homecoming, Cleveland picked up an impressive 114-108 overtime victory on the road over the Chicago Bulls on Friday night.Historically, the Bulls have been a thorn in James' side in OT, winning four of five meetings that needed the extra frame, per ESPN Stats and Info:However, the Cavaliers jumped out to an early lead in the overtime period and managed to keep the Bulls at bay. Chicago got to within two points on three different occasions but never leveled the score.For the Cavs, it's a big win early in the season, which calms down the hysteria following their home opener.After Thursday's loss, Cavaliers head coach David Blatt alluded to James possibly pressing during his first game back in Cleveland."Well, first of all, that was an emotional night for him without question," Blatt said, per Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. "He wanted badly to win the game and help the team play well. His effort was there. His efficiency was not what it normally is. That was obvious. We have to do a better job of getting him things in motion."LeBron looked much more comfortable Friday, leading Cleveland with 36 points on 14-of-30 shooting and eight rebounds. Kyrie Irving didn't have a great game shooting, but he made all 10 of his free throws en route to a 23-point night. Kevin Love also struggled from the floor, shooting 5-of-17. He finished with a double-double, 16 points and 16 rebounds.Tristan Thompson was the unsung hero, posting a double-double as well, with 16 points and 13 rebounds off the bench.Derrick Rose showed signs of the old Derrick Rose, scoring 20 points in 25 minutes on the floor. He missed the final minutes of regulation and the whole of overtime, however, with a left ankle sprain, per the Bulls:Kirk Hinrich stepped up in a big way, hitting critical shots down the stretch and scoring 20 points of his own. He nearly single-handedly lifted the Bulls to the win in the fourth quarter.In the end, Cleveland's multifaceted attack was too much for the Bulls. Chicago was also outrebounded 52-42 and had 10 more turnovers, a massive boon to a still-evolving Cavaliers team.Against the Knicks, the Cavs looked great to start the game and steadily fell off with each quarter. They continued digging themselves into a hole, and near the end of the game, were too far gone to make a comeback.To get past the Bulls in Chicago, Cleveland couldn't afford to have that kind of lull in the second and third quarters. It needed to get out to a fast start and keep the pressure on its opponent.That's exactly what the Cavaliers did, winning the first three quarters.One of the biggest reasons the Cavs held a 58-52 halftime lead was the performance of Thompson. The power forward did the dirty work underneath the glass, scoring eight points and grabbing seven boards, six of which came on the offensive end.ESPN.com's Myron Medcalf thinks Thompson will make himself look good all season by cleaning up the messes on the inside for Cleveland:James also played well in the first half, shooting 9-of-17 from the floor and scoring 19 points. That's two more points than he scored for the whole game against the Knicks. Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal felt LeBron was looking for his shot much more on Friday:The bigger concern for Cleveland is defense, and the first half did little to silence any doubters who question the Cavs' title chances. The Bulls shot 21-of-41 as a team through the first two quarters, with Rose looking really good. He had 18 points, three rebounds and two assists.There was a bit of a scare for Rose in the second quarter, when he came down on Irving's foot. The city of Chicago was thinking the worst for the short time Rose limped while shaking off the pain:The ankle must have flared up later in the game to keep him out down the stretch.The Bulls couldn't trim the deficit in the third quarter, in large part because their offense went cold. Chicago shot 6-of-21 as a team, often settling for mid-range jumpers and three-pointers rather than attacking the paint.The Cavs weren't much better, but Love found his shooting stroke, scoring six points in the quarter. He helped increase Cleveland's lead to 78-69 heading into the fourth quarter.The Bulls stormed back in the fourth and tied the game at 82 with 7:54 to play after a three from Aaron Brooks. The guard then gave Chicago an 84-82 lead, its first lead since the first quarter.Brooks and Tony Snell came off the bench to give the Bulls great minutes in the fourth, and without their 13 combined points in the final frame, Chicago wouldn't have gotten back into the game. As Michael Lee of The Washington Post jokingly tweeted, with all of the star power on the floor, of course Snell and Brooks were the guys to step up for the Bulls:The two teams continued to exchange the lead throughout the fourth quarter until the Bulls got another massive bucket from another role player. Cleveland was clinging to a 91-90 lead until Hinrich hit a three-pointer to give the Bulls a 93-91 advantage with 1:42 to play.Immediately after an Irving turnover, Hinrich hit another three to increase the lead to five points, 96-91. Three-point shooting in the second half was one of the biggest differences between the two teams on Friday, per ESPN Stats and Info:Hinrich victimized the Cavs defense again to cancel out a dunk by Love to keep it at a five-point game, 98-93, with 47 seconds left.NBA.com's Lang Whitaker was critical of Blatt for leaving Matthew Dellavedova on the floor to guard Hinrich:Somehow, someway, the Cavs clawed their way back, with James hitting two free throws and Irving completing a three-point play to tie the game at 98 with 27 seconds left. Hinrich and Love both had chances to win the game, but their shots were off the mark, sending the game into OT.The break between regulation and the extra period looked to be the perfect tonic for the Cavaliers. Blatt was able to regroup his players and calm them down.You should never put too much stock in October games, and Cleveland still has a long way to go to win the Eastern Conference. But Friday at least gives the team some positive momentum and represents a small step forward.The Cavaliers get some much-needed days off before their next game. They travel to Portland on Tuesday to play the Trail Blazers in what will be another good early litmus test for how well all of the team's new pieces are jelling.Chicago plays the second half of a back-to-back on Saturday night when it faces off against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis.
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